Sara's Game Read Online Free PDF Page A

other in Mrs. Bennett’s office, uncomfortably perched on the straight-backed, hard-as-a-church-pew chairs used by parents, or unruly students as they were dealt their punishments. 
    Detective Johnson, DJ , was younger than she had expected.  Younger than she’d hoped for, and she wondered how recently he’d been promoted to his position.  With her children gone, her world exploding around her, she wanted the best.  Someone with experience.  Someone with more successful cases filed away in the ‘Solved’ drawer than ones gone cold.  She wanted her own Dream Team with Michael and Magic and Larry.
    Instead, sitting opposite of her was a mid-thirties guy who looked like he might have earned his detective’s badge within the last six months.
    Christ, they sent a Boy Scout to look for my kids.  Unbelievable.
    DJ leaned forward.  “What’re your children’s names?”
    “Lacey and Callie.  They’re twins.  Ten years old.  And then Jacob.  He’s five.”
    “Okay,” he said, taking notes.  “To the best of your knowledge, when did your children go missing, Sara?”
    “Best guess, around nine o’clock this morning, based on what the principals told me.  You have someone at Whitetree, don’t you?”  She squirmed in her seat, feeling guilty that she couldn’t be in both places at the same time.
    The young detective scribbled again on his notepad.  “We do, we do.  And they’re in good hands over there with Detective Barker.  He’s been doing this longer—”
    “And you’ve been doing it...how long?”  Her heartbeat eased up at the thought of someone with experience, but she couldn’t resist asking.
    DJ smiled like he knew the question was coming.  No doubt he’d gotten it before.  “I know I look like I just started shaving yesterday,” he said, “but I’ve been in Missing Persons for five years.  All with Detective Barker.  People call him Bloodhound, so you can trust me—”
    “Did you have more questions, Detective?”  Sara scooted forward to the edge of her seat.  “I don’t mean to interrupt, but my kids?  Your questions?”
    “Definitely.  I’m in as much of a hurry as you are, so we’ll get through these double-time, okay?”
    “Yes, sorry, go on.”
    DJ cycled through the standard inquiries about how they had gone missing, had they ever run away before, any friends or immediate family who might be involved, any babysitters with less-than-stellar pasts, any enemies she might have, any strange vehicles in the neighborhood.  She answered them all, being as detailed as possible, and before she could mention the cryptic note, the next question had more of an affect on her than she anticipated.
    “And their father?  Where is he?”
    “Gone,” was all she could manage.
    “Gone?  As in, out of the picture gone, you’re divorced gone...deceased gone?”  He added the last bit with some trepidation.
    “I guess not talking about it isn’t an option, huh?”
    “If you think he could be a person of interest, we need those details so we can explore every possible alternative.”
    Before she could realize how ridiculous the notion might be, the possibility of Brian being involved popped into her head.
    Brian?  No way...Brian?
    “He wouldn’t,” she said.
    “Ma’am?”
    She didn’t hear the confused question.  What if it is Brian?  They never found his body and people thought they saw him...  Could he be involved?  Could he have come back and picked the kids up?  Is he on his way to the house right now, hoping to surprise me?  God, that would be a cruel way to make an entrance.  And after so long.  I’ll kick his ass back to wherever he’s been, if that’s the case.
    “Sara?”
    “What?”  Her eyes refocused, drawing her back to the present. 
    “Everything okay?”
    “What—what was your question?”
    “Your husband?”
    “Right, right.  Brian,” she said, taking another couple of seconds to process, then added, “He couldn’t be